Objective  To explore risk factors of scrub typhus in Ganzhou city of Jiangxi province and to provide evidences for the prevention and control of the disease.

  Methods  We recruited 67 scrub typhus cases (46 laboratory test confirmed and 21 clinically diagnosed) in three counties with the surveillance on the disease in Jiangxi province between 2015 and 2016. Then we selected 201 (for the ratio of 1 : 3) sex-, age (± 5 years)-, occupation-, and living residence-matched controls. A face-to-face interview and serum sample collection for Weil-Felix test were conducted among all the participants. Univariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression were adopted in data analyses using SPSS 20.0.

  Results  Univariate analyses indicated that working in a navel orange orchard or sweet potato field, with weeds or firewood stacking in home environment, frequent infestation of mouse at home, with wild grass ground/vegetable field/rice field around home were significant risk factors of exposure to scrub typhus (P < 0.05 for all). The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) of scrub typhus relevant to following factors: working in a navel orange orchard (OR = 3.40, 95% CI: 1.45 – 7.98), working in a sweet potato field (OR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.03 – 5.74), with weeds or firewood stacking in home environment (OR = 2.46, 95% CI: 1.13 – 5.35), frequent infestation of mouse at home (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.10 – 5.59), and with wild grass ground/vegetable field/rice field around home (OR = 2.09, 95% CI: 1.10 – 3.94).

  Conclusion  Working in a navel orange orchard or sweet potato field, with weeds or firewood stacking in home yard, frequent infestation of mouse at home, and with wild grass ground/vegetable field/rice field around home are risk factors of scrub typhus in Ganzhou city of Jiangxi province.